A New Horizon
by Deiru Tamashi
Summary: Sequel to "A World Beyond My Own". Two years have passed since Sin has been destroyed, and Sofia has stayed behind Yuna's side, remaining the High Summoner's sister and guardian. But when Yuna becomes a sphere hunter Sofia does as well to protect her. What will happen as events unfold in this age of peace? Can they find what they had once lost? Rated T just in case. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I do not own Final Fantasy or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

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_Last Story…_

Sofia Ostrovsky was an ordinary seventeen year-old girl in our world, who lived on her own after escaping from foster care, which she had been in since her father's disappearance. While she lived in San Francisco, she was also the student of a martial arts and sword expert, Deiru Tamashi. Then, one day, an elemental calamity known as Sin attacked her home, and both Sofia and Deiru were drawn into Spira- a world of magic, fiends born of unsent souls and a diverse population, a grand deal of which wasn't even human. She met Tidus, a blitzball player who was also pulled into Spira, and the two of them were rescued by a tribe of Spirans known as Al Bhed.

There they met a girl named Rikku, who explained to Tidus that his home, Zanarkand, had been destroyed a thousand years ago. After learning this though, the group was separated by an attack from Sin, and Tidus and Sofia awoke in the waters near the isle of Besaid. Whilst there they met the captain of the local blitzball team, Wakka, and Tidus and Sofia greed to help the Aurochs win in an upcoming tournament. Before they left though, they met a young summoner named Yuna, whose duty was to defeat Sin. As the group traveled to Luca, the city where the tournament would take place, Tidus learned that his father had been in Spira as well.

Once at Luca they won the tournament, also meeting religious maesters Mika and Seymour. After the tournament, Sofia met Deiru again, who revealed that he, her father Alexander, Tidus's father, and Auron, a man who looked after Tidus, were all guardians of Yuna's father. And at the end of that pilgrimage, Jecht and Alexander had become Sin. Sofia and Tidus were horrified, but resolved to acknowledge their father's wishes to put an end to their suffering. Afterwards the four rejoined Yuna and the others, continuing the pilgrimage. As they traveled they met Rikku again, who was actually Yuna's cousin and also became a guardian, Yuna and Sofia grew together and became sisters, Tidus and Yuna fell in love, and after a long series of mishaps the group finally reached the home of the Zanarkand. There lied the Final Aeon, the only means of destroying Sin.

There they met Yunalesca, the first summoner, who revealed that Sin would never be truly killed with the Final Aeon, but it was done anyway to provide Spira hope. The group refused this and Yunalesca attacked them, failing and fading away in defeat. The group resolved to find a new way to defeat Sin, one that ensured that it would die forever. They eventually found it- they would have to go within Sin and fight the spirit of Yu Yevon, the person who first created Sin. They group made their way through Sin, and fought Jecht and Alexander at Dream's End, subsequently defeating Yu Yevon. When they won Sin died in a fiery explosion. With Sin gone Deiru and Auron, who had become unsent when they attacked Yunalesca ten years ago, were able to rest in peace and faded away.

Tidus soon followed, having actually been a dream of the fayth, and the fayth had been able to go to rest with Sin gone, their dream ending. Tidus bid them all farewell before fading, and Sofia was able to give Yuna comfort over his passing. At Luca Yuna announced that Sin was finally dead, and that Spira was theirs again to rebuild.

Two years pass…

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**A New Horizon**

Ch.1 YRPS

At the stadium in Luca, an entire crowd was gathered, all cheering for the concert that would start in a few minutes. In the hallways leading to the stands one guard was knocked out, and a girl moved past him towards the stand. Another girl stood over the fallen guard and spoke into a receiver. "Y, R, P, S, in position. It's showtime, girls," she said. Within the middle of the stadium a platform rose into the air, and beneath a mechanical drummer began beating against the drums. On flying hoverboards around the center guitarists began playing. And in the center of the platform was the High Summoner, Yuna. She walked forward and spun around, changing from her garb as a Summoner to Songstress. Yuna began signing.

_Far beyond the hazy borders of my heart  
I can see a place  
It's something like this  
Every now and then I don't know what to do  
Still I know that I  
Can never go back_

_All the things I've seen  
In those hazy dreams  
Can't compare to what I see tonight  
Everything's so different  
That it brings me to my knees_

_And oh, I know, the world of Real Emotion  
Has surrounded me  
I won't give into it  
Now I know, that world  
It is the only way my heart can go  
I hear your voice calling out to me  
You'll never be alone_

_What can I do for you_

_What can I do for you_

_What can I do for you_

_What can I do for you_

As Yuna sang the girl who spoke into the receiver watched with binoculars. "Hey!" a guard said, grabbing her shoulder and turning her. She smiled at him, before suddenly kicking him in the side of head, knocking him out on the spot. She had long blond hair that was braided and possessed several beads, held back with a blue bandana. Hey eyes were a green swirl unique to all Al Bhed, and they gleamed with mischief. She wore a yellow bikini top and an olive mini skirt with ruffled sleeves, and two pouches at her waist. Rikku. The other girl slid down the rail of the stairs and jumped, landing next to her.

This girl had short silver hair and red eyes, and wore a black leather ensemble complete with a folded top, high-heeled boots and elbow-length gloves. At the front of her belt was a skull, and around her neck she wore a silver pendant threaded with a barbed wire chain and a black collar. Paine. "Hey!" a third voice said. Rikku and Paine to see a third girl run up to them, but she was stopped by two guards. One of them tried grabbing her, but she grasped him arm and hit him with an uppercut to the stomach. The guard doubled over, and she threw him into his partner. They both stumbled near the edge, and she hit one the she had punched with hammer blow to the chest, knocking them both over the edge.

The last girl was me, and had long pitch-black hair that fell to my knees, and piercing amethyst eyes. My arms were corded with muscle, not a lot but enough for it to be apparent that I worked out. I wore a black sleeveless top and black army trousers, complete with black steel-toed boots. On my back was two swords sheaths crossed in an X, one silver and the other gold. My name is Sofia Ostrovsky. The three of us joined together and jumped onto a hoverboard, riding to the center platform and jumping down. "Hey! Give it back already!" Rikku said. The girl who looked like Yuna smiled in a rather arrogant way, and said in another voice "Oh, boys!" Two goons in green outfits with veils appeared.

"Want in on this number? Then show me your moves!" the girl said, backing away. Rikku drew two short red blades while Paine held a long black blade with a skull at the hilt, and I, rather than drawing my weapons, deciding to use just my hands and feet. "Think you can keep up?" Rikku asked. The two Goons charged and slashed with their knives, Rikku blocked one with her blades and kicked him in the stomach. The wind was knocked out of him, and Paine knocked him cold with a blow to the back of the head with the butt of her sword. I dodged the attack of the other Goon and gave him a chop to the neck, cutting off his air before I drove boot into between his legs, ending the sequence with a punch the face that crushed the goon's nose.

Both of them fell, and Paine said "I could have danced all night." The girl who looked like Yuna grunted and said "Sorry, no time for an encore!" She turned and ran, jumping off the platform and onto the edge of the stands, running out. "Oh no you don't!" I said, jumping off and running after her. Rikku and Paine did the same. "Hold still!" Rikku called, putting on an extra burst of speed. I was ahead of them because of my additional speed, and I could see the distance between myself and the imposter getting smaller. But then she put on an extra burst of speed as well, and rounded around a corner. "Hey, you run too fast!" Rikku complained.

Just then a tall man with a thin face, wearing a purple-blue robs and hat walked out in front of us. "You're too slow, little girl," he said, drawing a pair of pistols. From the other side a short but very bulky man wearing the same outfit, save for a large shield, joined him. "Show's over! Bwahaha!" he said. I grunted and prepared to draw my swords, before Paine said "This way!" I looked and saw her and Rikku moving around both the two men and a tower of crates. I followed them and the two men shouted, not having realized that we could do that. They chased after us and I smiled; the tall one might catch up, but definitely not the short one. Once we rounded the corner we caught sight of the imposter again, and I strained to catch up.

We were reaching the end of the docks, and I realized that we needed to catch up to the imposter if we had any chance of catching her. "You aren't getting away!" I yelled, and I caught sight of set of crates that were set like stairs. I ran towards them and ran up, leaping off of the top. The jump sent me high into the air, and I could see the imposter below. I smiled and pulled my arm back, calling "Take this! Demi!" A sphere of black energy flew forward from my hand, and it hit the ground and in front of the imposter, creating a blast of gravity-increasing energy. The imposter didn't stop in time and was caught, being hauled to the ground.

I smiled and flipped over, landing on the ground in front of the imposter. Her two henchmen saw this and were about to turn around, when a flurry of gunfire hit the ground in that direction. They stopped, and looked in time to see Yuna, the _real _Yuna, land in front of them. Her blue and green eyes were the same as before, but her hair was cut short in tomboy-ish style, save for a single braid that fell to her ankles. She was wearing a halter-top with a pink hood and a Zanarkand Abes symbol on her chest. Yellow armbands were on her biceps and she wore a black wristband on her left wrist. On her lower half were jean boyshorts, a pouch on her left hip, an ankle-length blue and white sash, and laced knee-high boots.

Yuna smirked and held up a pair of pistols. I cast Demi again, only for an extended period time, and made sure the imposter was stuck to the ground before I ran up, my swords drawn. "Nice to see you could make it, sis," I said. Yuna chuckled. "Like I'd miss this?" she said. "The time has come! Game's up!" the short goon said, drawing his shield and running forward. I jumped back and cast Libra, leaning that the short one's name was Ormi and the tall one was Logos. "Take this!" I said, and cast Bio. A puddle of green poison burst from the ground in front of Ormi, and he had to stop to avoid stepping in it. "Parting is such sweet sorrow," Logos quoted, before unleashing a Hail of Bullets.

Paine held up her sword to block and Rikku and Yuna hit the ground, while I leaped over the line of fire. Rikku stood and ran forward, slashing with her blades at Logos. She scored a hit on his arm and one on his chest, using sticking her hand in his pockets and swiping a Potion as she ran back. "Hey! That's stealing!" Ormi yelled, and he charged with his shield. Paine calmly stuck her foot out and tripped him, and he shouted as he face-planted against the ground. Yuna laughed and pointed her gun at him, saying "Don't move." Ormi paused for a second and looked up, before laughing and jumping up. Yuna fired but he held his massive shield n front of him, the bullets bouncing off.

Yuna frowned and called "Try this then!" before using Trigger Happy. In the span of five seconds she fired an entire clips of bullets, and each hit made Ormi slide a little further back. He didn't realize it, but with each push he was nearing the edge where a shove would send him into the water. Logos saw it though, and leveled his own pistol at Yuna and fired. She cried out in pain as the bullet hit her in the arm, but luckily it was just a flesh wound. All the same, I whipped my head and glared at him. "Okay, now you've pissed me off!" I yelled. "Yeah! No one hurts Yunie, or any of the rest of us!" Rikku added. "Let's get him," Paine said. We nodded and charged forward, all three of us attacking at once.

Logos was too overwhelmed by the triple assault to try dodging, and while Rikku slashed an X on his chest and Paine hit him on the head with the flat of her blade, I sheathed my sword placed my hands against the ground, swinging my feet and kicking Logos on the side of the kneecap. There was an audible _crunch_, and his eyes bulged wide before he fell to the ground, crying out and holding his dislocated kneecap. Ormi saw that his comrade was down and said "Hey!" before spinning around on one foot. As expected we all turned, and looked just in time to see Ormi's shield flying like a giant deadly Frisbee at us. I was still on the ground and stayed there, and Paine joined me.

Rikku wasn't fast enough though, and was hit in the stomach hard enough to double her over and send her flying. "Rikku!" Yuna called, having healed her bullet wound with a Potion. She knelt by her cousin, who was groaning and holding her stomach. But then she stood and uncorked the Potion she had stolen, quickly drinking it. The bruise on her stomach promptly vanished. I smiled and stood; now Ormi had no weapon, and Logos was down with that injury. But then we heard a voice that said "That's quite enough sniveling, boys," and the fake Yuna walked forward, having escaped my Demi spell. She retrieved Ormi's shield and handed it to him, also giving Logos a Hi-Potion.

"Persistent, aren't you?" the imposter asked, facing us. Yuna glared at her. "My grid," she said simply. "You give us back Yunie's Garment Grid right now!" Rikku yelled. "Didn't you girls ever learn to share?" the imposter asked. Yuna's eyebrows furrowed. "Give it back!" she demanded, growing angry. The imposter sighed. "Very well; it's yours," she said, taking out a sphere and tossing it. Once it left her hands though, the imposter flashed with light and and changed back too her true persona: our rival sphere hunter and enemy, Leblanc. She raised her fan and said "But it won't be yours for long, loves!"

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Well, there's the first chapter of A New Horizon. I have a question though: do you all think I should increase the length of these chapters to three-thousand words? If I do the chapters will indeed be long, but it might take a extra day or so I finish writing each one. That being said, here's the first chapter itself, and next one will be the hunt on Gagazet, along with what has happened since the previous story!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I do not own Final Fantasy or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

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The people who have read the first chapter of this story have given me some good feedback. Thank you all for that. And so, allow me to reply to those who reviewed!

The Road Between Worlds: Thank you for helping me determine the chapter length.

Guest: Probably, although I'm not sure when.

Zomvee: I'm sorry to hear that, but maybe you'll like this one more.

Gry17: Not a bad idea; I might eventually use it.

And so, may the story continue!

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Ch.2 Gullwings

I dodged a wave of scything air created by Leblanc's fan, glaring at the one who had created it. She smirked at my misfortune and slashed again, sending another slash at Rikku. This one connected, and Rikku shouted in pain from the hit. Ormi laughed and charged at her before she could heal, but Rikku managed to regain her focus quickly enough to dodge. She also stuck her hand into his pocket and swiped a Potion as he passed, quickly drinking it. "Hey!" he protested, stopping to turn around and look at her. Rikku smirked mischievously, waving at him before pointing over his shoulder. He looked back… just in time to see me cast Bio on him.

A puddle of green poison appeared around his feet, and when Ormi gasped he breathed in the fumes from it. Instantly he dissolved into fit of coughing, trying to rid his body of the effects of my spell. I smiled; there was a reason I had chosen for my default Dressphere to be Dark Knight. All of the powerful spells that it allowed me access to were wonderful. I turned and was about to cast Drain on Logos when he fired his pistols and a bullet passed by a few millimeters from my head. I gritted my teeth and prepared to attack, when Yuna yelled "No hurting my sister!" and we looked to see her pointing both of her guns at Logos.

They glowed briefly for a second before Yuna used Trigger Happy, firing an entire clip from both guns in the span of a few seconds. While Logos twisted and turned to avoid almost all of them- the guy was evasive- three bullets entered his left arm, with one in his right leg. Immediately he cried out in agony and dropped his pistols, falling to one knee and taking out a Potion, trying to pour it over the wound with his good arm. Ormi began to run over and help his comrade, but then Rikku tossed a grenade and it exploded right next to him, the blast sending the short but wide man flying a few feet before landing on his back.

"Ormi! Logos!" Leblanc called, turning to us and baring her teeth in anger. "You'll pay for that! Thunder!" she called, and she pointed her fan into the air. Not just one bolt of lightning fell though. Instead, several feel down and blasted all four of us, causing us to all hold up our respective weapons to hold off the blows. While more and more bolts rained down Leblanc ran to her comrades, helping Ormi up and tossing a Hi-Potion to Logos. He caught it and nodded his thanks, hurriedly drinking its contents. The bullets in his arms and legs pushed themselves out and the holes closed, allowing Logos to stand. Leblanc called up her barrage of Thunder spells and began swinging with her fan again, while Ormi charged at Rikku.

Rikku didn't dodge quickly enough this time, and was bowled over like a human-sized bowling pin. Logos said "Now it's time for payback," and leveled his pistols at Yuna, unleashing Hail of Bullets. Yuna dropped down to the ground, dodging all of the bullets save for one- one that imbedded itself in her shoulder. Yuna shouted and clutched that shoulder, precious blood welling from the wound in that dangerous area. "Yuna!" I called, and I changed my Dressphere to White Mage. My body was enveloped in a flash of light, and my clothes shifted to a white hooded robe, the hood of which was pulled back and my ebon hair flowed out. In my hand was the staff Nirvana, and I pointed it at Yuna. "Cure!" I called.

Yuna was enveloped in a sparkled of white-and-green light and the wound quickly healed, and I changed back into my regular outfit while Yuna changed to Songstress. Paine slashed at Ormi only to have her sword blocked by his shield, striking sparks. "I think it's time we ended this," she said. Rikku nodded, and said "Together now!" We all nodded and charged, Paine bring down her sword in an overhead blow at Logos, Yuna cast Darkness Dance on Leblanc and I slashed at her, while Rikku slashed her blades in an X at Ormi. Logos tried to take a step back, but Paine said "No you don't!" and leaped forward, slashing him across the chest.

Leblanc couldn't see to block me, and I hit her in the stomach with the butt of one sword before stabbing her in the foot with the other. While Ormi raised his shield Rikku crept up behind him, and slashed an X into his back before jumping and delivering a missile kick to the back of his head. Leblanc fell back, as did her cohorts, and said "I won't let you off so easily next time!" before they all ran away, Leblanc limping from the injury in her foot. "Get back here!" Rikku called, beginning to run after them. "Rikku!" Paine said, I added "That's enough." She stopped, looking back sheepishly. Then we noticed that, despite the fact that the fight was over, Yuna hadn't stopped dancing.

"Yuna? Are you okay?" I asked. She frowned. "I'm not sure. My body is doing this on its own!" she said, both sounding excited and worried at the same time. Rather than become worried as well, Rikku simply laughed. "Well, I guess you'll just have to keep dancing until it wears off," Paine said, smiling somewhat as well. Just then I heard the sound of static, and in my pocket my communicator went off. "_This is Brother, calling all Gullwings. Yuna's Garment Grid has been recovered?_" Brother, Rikku's older sibling, asked. I looked at Yuna, who was still dancing, and chuckled. "Yeah, I'd say we got it back all right," I said. "_What you mean? Why the chuckle?_" he asked, curious.

"We'll talk about it once we're on the _Celsius_," Rikku said. Buddy's best friend and the Gullwings' co-pilot, Buddy, said on the radio "_We'll be there in a minute. Hang tight until we get there_." We all took one more look at Yuna, and Rikku said "No problems there."

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Later we were aboard the _Celsius_, the airship that Gullwings, our group of sphere hunters, used to travel Spira. As the name suggested, sphere hunters traveled about Spira, searching for sphere of possible value and collecting them. Two years ago, after a falling-out they had with Cid, Rikku and Brother had been the original founders of the Gullwings, along with Buddy. Paine had joined them just a little before we did, but aside from that none of us know much about her. She doesn't tell much. But she's great with a sword and as a sphere hunter, so she's earned my respect. Paine noticed me looking at her, and said "What?" I blinked and looked away. "Oh, nothing," I said, and she let it drop.

"You seemed to be enjoying yourself back there," Rikku said, looking at Yuna. "I was. It felt like some other person's excitement just took over," she said. Shinra, another member of our team and a technological genius, said "That can happen when you use the Garment Grid. The emotions of the person recorded in the sphere pass to the user." I frowned. "Isn't that dangerous?" I asked. "I can't really say," he replied. "But it's your invention!" Buddy protested. Shinra shrugged. "I'm just a kid," he said. Brother cleared his throat. "Dancing Yuna? I want to see!" he said. "It'll cost you," Yuna said, smiling playfully. "One moment…" he said, looking around in his pockets.

"She's kidding," Paine said. "What? No dance?" he said, let down. Suddenly an alarm sounded, and Brother said "Ehlusehk tydy! Gullwings, du ouin cdydeuhc!" in Al Bhed. He jumped into the pilot seat while Shinra and Buddy began typing, and I decided to kill some time by walking around the ship. As I said, the Gullwings had formed two years ago after we had killed since, and the Eternal Calm had begun. Since then Yuna had been living in what was left of the temple and I, having nowhere else to go, remained by her side as her sister and sole remaining guardian. Wakka and Lulu had gotten together; Kimahri had become the elder of the Ronso, and the others…

I winced at the memories, memories of all of the people we had lost in order to bring about this age of peace. Friends, family and, in Yuna's case, first loves. I shook my head to clear the unhappy recollections, instead focusing on what had happened in the last two years. With only me left as the High Summoner's guardian, I made it my mission to protect Yuna as well as I was able. Over the years that included becoming even more physically fit than I was, and now I was able to look in satisfaction at the lean muscles that had formed all along my body. I had even forged myself a new sword to go with my old one, Selini, and now I wielded two blades with fluid efficiency.

It had been a simple life, albeit rather bland after a while, but then Rikku had curd that when she showed up with a sphere, one that showed a recording of Yuna's lost love, Tidus. That had convinced Yuna to leave her sheltered life in Besaid and become a sphere hunter so that she might find more clues, and maybe even a way to bring Tidus back. And I, being the loving and protective sister, joined as well. I entered the ship's elevator, and I punched in the button for the ships gym. I had asked Buddy and Brother if we could get a gym installed on the airship so we could all stay in shape, particularly me and Paine. Buddy and Brother had quickly agreed on the condition that I came up with the gil to pay for it, believing that there was no way that I could collect such an amount anytime soon.

Imagine their surprise when I did just that by getting paid to kill fiends.

Now the elevator doors hissed open, and I walked into the gym. The floor was covered with black and white mats at regular intervals; there were shelves of weights, a bench press, and so much more. I smiled and walked into the bathroom, changing into a pair of running shorts, bandages wrapped around my hands and feet, and a sports top. I went through my usual warm up of ten Marine Corps push-ups (you have to bring your chest to the ground and _then_ up), ten sit-ups and twenty jumping jacks. After that was the actual exercises consisting of pull-ups, flutter kicks, running along a treadmill, and bench-press.

"Mind if I join?" I heard the voice of Paine say, and I looked up from the bench-press to see her standing there in gym attire as well, walking towards a punching bag with a smile of her face. I smiled, and replied "Feel free." She nodded her thanks and went to work of the punching bag, going through a series of punches, kicks, and many other forms of fighting. I was always amazed with Paine's hand-to-hand combat skill; she made use of just about every limb in her body. After about an hour I asked "So where are Rikku and Yuna?" Paine smiled, delivering one more kick to the bag that would have shattered the jaw of something living.

"They decided to catch some sleep. They were too 'tired' after the mission and wanted to catch some sleep," she told me. I chuckled and shook my head, letting go of the pull-up bar and landing on my feet easily. "And yet they wonder why you and I are the most physically fit of the whole team," I remarked. To this she said nothing, but she did crack as smile as she walked towards the treadmill. I walked through a doorway set to the side, and I entered the part of the gym that had cost the _real_ money: the magic-training facility. The reason it was so expensive was that the targets and dummies had to be able to resist extreme damage from any sort of magical offense, and such materials were expensive.

I pressed a button and walked out into the center of the area, closing my eyes and focusing. I could feel my magical strength begin to rise, and when I heard the sound of a target appearing behind me I whirled around and cast Fire. The spell hit right on the bulls eye, and when I heard another come down I spun and fired. Over and over I cast, only hitting the targets shaped like fiends and not those shaped like humans. Then I heard one more target appear and I turned to my right, noticing that the target was shaped like Seymour Guado, an enemy of Yuna's and mine from her pilgrimage. Without hesitation I cast Firaga, hitting the target with a massive fireball that left the target covered in burns and streaks of soot.

"Well, those things certainly aren't winning anytime soon," Paine commented, walking in with her sword raised, wanting to use the sword practice function of the facility. I nodded and walked out, closing the door behind me as she began practicing. Now that I had finished my magic exercises I was indeed tired, and I walked to the sleeping quarters where I found Yuna slumbering and Rikku snoring loud enough to wake a hibernating Behemoth. I smiled and took a quick shower, lying down afterwards and drifting to sleep.

A while later I was awoken by Yuna, who said "Brother just called us over the intercom. They've finished that data analysis." I blinked and groaned, but ultimately got up and got dressed. Rikku and Yuna did the same, and in five minutes we were all assembled in the bridge. "So, what did you guys find?" Paine asked, also back in her usual attire. "Treasure sphere waves. They're coming from the ruins they found at Gagazet," Buddy told us. "All right!" Rikku cheered. "Okay! Haqd cdub: Gagazet!" Brother said, and the airship shot forward.

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Well, that wraps up the second chapter. Come the next one will be the sphere hunt on Gagazet, but will Leblanc and her goons get in the way? Stay tuned to find out!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. I'm just kidding… or am I?)


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: I do not own Final Fantasy or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

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The third chapter has come, and so, allow me to reply to those who have reviewed!

Zomvee: Thank you.

The Road Between Worlds: You're right; my bad.

Legendsofwoe: Glad to see that you want to read t the sequel. I will work to keep posting.

And Gry17: The idea is intriguing. I'll have to consider it.

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Ch.3 Gagazet

I crossed my arms and waited, watching through the windshield as the _Celsius_ flew through the clouds towards Gagazet. I knew that since the end of the pilgrimage Kimahri had become the elder and chief of the Ronso, but I had a feeling we wouldn't be seeing him just yet. Instead, we were heading closer to the top, where long-forgotten ruins had appeared once the clouds above it had dispersed. "Almost there," Buddy said, and the ruins where we had picked up treasure sphere waves began to come into view. After everything that had happened two years ago it took little to shock me, but this made my eyes widen. "Hey, the rocks are floating!" Yuna said. "Are we gonna have to climb this?" Rikku moaned.

Buddy chuckled at her childish tone, and said "No worries. I'll take you to the top." Rikku audibly sighed in relief, and we rose through the air until we were level with highest possible point. Once we were there Brother opened the ramp in the back of the ship, and we jumped off of there and landed on a ledge. "_Let us know once you have the sphere, and we'll come get you, okay?_" Buddy said over the com unit. I nodded, saying "We will." The ramp rose back up and closed, and the airship flew away. I worked my hands from side to side, pumping and my arms and saying "All right! Let's do this!" Yuna nodded and smiled, before making the universally foolish mistake of looking down over the edge.

She groaned and fell over the edge, the sudden dizziness destroying her balance. "Yuna!" I called, and I instantly grabbed one of her arms. Rikku and Paine grabbed the other, and I gritted my teeth. Even as strong as I was now, holding Yuna by the arm wasn't easy. Our com units buzzed with static before the voice of Brother said "_What's your status?_" "Disasterrific!" Rikku replied, to which he said "_Disasterrific is not a word! Say 'disastrous' like the rest of Spira!_" "Not the time for arguing, guys!" I said. "I'm not listening!" Rikku yelled, although I wasn't sure if she was talking to me or Brother. "_Rikku! Come in!_" Brother yelled. "You want me to hurt him?" Paine asked us.

I managed to half-smile, saying "That would help." "_Come in!_" Brother repeated. As one Rikku, Paine and I all said "Heave… ho!" and hauled Yuna back onto the ledge. Yuna sighed in relief. "Thanks. That was a little close," she said. I raised an eyebrow, and Paine voiced my thoughts by saying "A little?" "_Come in!_" Brother shouted once more. I contemplated telling him to shut up in Al Bhed (Listening to him and Rikku argue had taught me some things) but Yuna beat me to it. "We're here. Everything's fine now," she said. "_Yuna, keep an eye on Rikku!_" he told her. "You got it!" she promised and cut the connection. "Yuna, you're way too soft on him," Rikku announced once he couldn't hear.

Yuna frowned, crossing her arms. "Hey, he's just as much my cousin as you are!" she protested. Rikku opened her mouth before stopping, realizing that she had no comeback to this. Paine spared her by clearing her throat, saying "Shall we start?" "Let's," I said, and I followed after her. Yuna and Rikku both made sounds of surprise before following, and we were almost immediately set upon by a trio of White Fangs. The lupine fiends howled before starting forward, and I jumped back, flinging out my hand and calling "Demi!" A sphere of black energy fired forward before hitting the ground, and it instantly increased the gravity around the fiends to the point that they slammed against the ground.

Paine took the chance to run forward and stab one with her sword, kicking another away when it tried to lunge at her. Rikku giggled and tapped one on the shoulder, before leaping into the air as it spun around. It looked up at her, and she said "Bye-bye!" before throwing one of her short blades at it, nailing the beast between the eyes. Yuna picked off the last one with a trio of shots to its sides, and with them gone we kept going. We came to the end of the path and saw that there was a staircase that in ancient times must have led to the apex, where the sphere is supposed to be. Sadly, a section about ten feet wide was missing from the bottom.

"Well, I guess we're not getting across this way," Rikku said. "Let's find another route," Paine suggested. I nodded and we took the path to the right, moving downwards instead of up. At the end of _that_ path there was an elevator, and Paine frowned. "A dead end," she announced. Rikku pouted and sat down on the floor of it. "Just great," she said, I frowned and turned around on the spot, inspecting the elevator. After Yuna and I had become Gullwings I had begun developing an interest in machina and technology, and now I was able to see that, despite the obvious signs of age, the elevator itself seemed to be in relatively good shape. "Are you sure it doesn't work?" I said.

"Let's find out," Yuna said, and she pushed the DOWN button. For a second nothing happened, until the lift shook and began descending steadily. While I was smiling, Rikku said "I wonder how safe this thing is…" As soon as she said that the lift froze, before dropping like a stone in air. We all screamed in panic, and the elevator crashed against the bottom hard enough to create a crack in the floor. "It stopped…" Yuna said, shaking her head. "Owwie…" Rikku moaned, having fallen on her rear during her fall. I groaned and sat up, trying to clear the cobwebs that had filled my mind when I had slipped and hit my head. At that moment Brother contacted us again, saying "_What happened? Is Yuna okay?_"

While I idly wondered why he had specified as to Yuna's wellbeing, Yuna said "Things are… disasterrific." "_Disasterrific? I am on my way!_" Brother announced, before cutting the line. "What about me?" Rikku said, hanging her head. "He knows your fine; you have too much energy to die," I told her, patting her on the shoulder. That helped perk her back up, and we moved one. We found a path that allowed us to go back up, and we came upon an open area with the wind blowing harshly about. "Man, would I hate to fight some sort of wind-fiend here!" Yuna said, to which Paine nodded. Rikku kicked her feet into the ground and set up a cloud of dust, which flew past.

And we heard something give a huge sneeze.

We all froze, and Yuna said "Who's there?" For a second there was silence, until Leblanc stepped out from around the corner. "Eh, Leblanc. Remember that name well, loves!" she said, drawing her fan. I reached for my swords but didn't draw, waiting for the moment. "Ah, the thief," Paine said. "Whatever do you mean? That's what I hate about amateurs…" Leblanc replied, frowning. "Maybe she'll go away if we ignore her," Rikku whispered to us. Leblanc's frown turned into a scowl, and she said "You! I heard that! Just what I was saying: amateurs! They have no concept of what it takes to be a true sphere hunter." "Amateurs? Weren't you following us?" Paine asked.

"Following? A mere coincidence," she said. Ormi and Logos walked around the corner to join her, Ormi moving into a fighting pose while Logos drew his pistols. "You was right, Boss, as always," Ormi said. "Indeed, following them has paid off splendidly," Logos added. At that I smiled while Yuna and other others laughed, and I even permitted myself a low chuckle. Leblanc glared at her cohorts before turning to us. "Laugh while you can!" she said, and waved her fan. A scything blade of wind shot through the air, and we dodged to avoid it. Our laughter faded, and I drew both Selini and Ilios (my other sword) and moved into a battle pose.

The others also drew their weapons, and without waiting we charged forward. I cast Bio at Leblanc and created a large pool of poison at her feet, which she backed away from to avoid being poisoned. Yuna aimed her guns at Ormi and fired, but he blocked them with his massive shield. Paine meanwhile targeted Logos, and he blocked her sword with his pistols while Rikku snuck around and swiped a Hi-Potion from his pocket. He caught her in the act and shoved Paine away, spinning around and glaring at Rikku. "I've had enough of your thievery!" he yelled, pointing his guns at her and firing. Rikku cried out in pain as she was shot in both arms, her right leg, and one grazed her ear.

"Rikku!" Yuna called, and she changed her dress sphere to White Mage. Yuna's body was enveloped in light before it faded, showing her in a white hooded robe with white gloves, boots, and her staff that she carried on her pilgrimage. "Cure!" she called, and spread her arms. Rikku was enveloped in a sparkle of green and white light, and the bullets forced themselves out of their wounds and the bleeding stopped. But the holes didn't close, and Rikku was only able to stand gently on her injured leg. "You care a lot for your friends. Let's see you join in their pain!" Leblanc said, and she used Sonic Fan. A wave of air flew forth and hit Yuna in the side, knocking her over with a several tears in her robe.

Ormi laughed before jumping and spinning on one foot, gaining speed until he threw his shield at Paine. She rolled out of the way to block it, and I picked up the shield and used it to block a round of shots from Logos. "I think I'm feeling weak. How about you?" I asked Logos, before holding out my hand and calling "Drain!" He shouted as a green orb of light flew from his body and hit me, restoring my strength while weakening his. Leblanc sent yet another Sonic Fan at us, but this time Yuna was ready and switched to gunner, leaping over it while activating Trigger Happy. She fired her gun over a dozen times in five seconds, and three hit Leblanc in a cluster in the middle of her torso.

She gasped and Ormi and Logos called "Boss!" before Logos tossed her a Hi-Potion. Logos meanwhile charged at me like a football player, and despite my strength he beat me by sheer size. I fell to the ground and smacked my head against the pavement, while Ormi grabbed his shield and ran back to his allies. I grunted and stood, the back of my head throbbing painfully. Despite the fact that I knew it would cause me more pain, I waited to unleash one of my Dark Knight dressphere's special attacks. Leblanc pulled back her fan to deliver one more Sonic Fan at Yuna, and I ran forward calling "Hey! Old lady!" As I planned, the insult caught her attention and whirled to face me, just as I smiled and called "Darkness!"

Threads of black enveloped me and my blades before I leaped forward, slashing both of my swords against Leblanc and creating a small blast of dark energy. Leblanc shouted and fell back, while I dropped to one knee. That was the cost of Darkness- you gave some of your own strength to use it. Logos tried to aim at me while I was recovering, but Yuna fired his pistols out of his hand, while Rikku slashed Ormi in the front while Paine did the same along his back. All three of them fell back, and Leblanc frowned. "Hmph! And this is the thanks I get for going easy on you!" she said, and she threw a smoke bomb at us.

Before I could catch it the bomb exploded, enveloping us in a cloud of thick black smoke. By the time it cleared Leblanc and her goons were gone. "She's trying to make it to the top first!" I called. "Who does she think she is?" Rikku asked rhetorically. Not so rhetorically, Paine announced "She's getting hurt." "Then let's go, and beat them to it!" Yuna said. We all nodded, and ran off.

* * *

The race for the sphere is on. Can Yuna, Sofia and the others make it first? Or will Leblanc beat them to it? The next chapter will tell!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: I do not own Final Fantasy or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

* * *

Ch.4 Race to the Sphere

The four of us ran forward through the ruins, hearing Logos, Ormi and Leblanc a good distance ahead of us. "Come on! We can't let them get to the sphere first!" I said, and put on an extra ounce of speed. "Yeah!" Rikku said, and she sped up right with me. Yuna nodded and did the same, along with Paine who said nothing. A pair of White Fangs got in our way, but I simply cast Drain on one while Paine cleaved the other in two, and we kept going. Despite our speed though, we should have known that Leblanc would find some way to keep us back. And she did, in the form of Logos. "You look a tad flushed. Why not stop to catch your breath!" he said, and waved his hands. A pair of Ahrimans and a White Fang dropped down from below, and Logos ran off to catch up with his comrades.

I grunted and drew my sword, while the others did the same. Without waiting the Ahrimans folded their wings over their eyes, before using Umbral Gaze and firing lasers at Rikku and Yuna. Yuna was barely hurt, but Rikku cried out "Hey! I can't see!" "Here!" Paine said, and she handed her a Remedy before charging at the White Fang. The canine fiend growled before leaping into the air. Paine ducked and stabbed her sword upwards, catching the beast right in the stomach. It let out a yelp of surprise as its assault was halted, and Paine tossed it into the Ahriman that had hit Rikku. They both tumbled to the ground, and the White Fang faded away in a cloud of pyreflies.

The Ahriman tried to rise up but was hit by Yuna with Pot Shot, knocking it back down with a bullet in the side of its head. The other Ahriman aimed at her and tried to use Umbral Gaze, but I cast Demi and sent it back, where Rikku had finished drinking the Remedy and stabbed it in the eye. Both fiends disintegrated, and Paine said "We've lost ground. Let's go!" We all nodded and started running again, and after a few minutes we began to hear the sounds of Leblanc and the others. "Hurry! Before those amateurs can catch up!" Leblanc called. "Yes, Boss!" Logos and Ormi replied. We managed to make up another floor and caught a flash of purple, and I smiled. We were starting to make it. Then Ormi stopped and turned around, barring our path.

"Let's show the ladies a nice, warm welcome!" he said, and another pair of White Fangs bounded towards us, accompanied by a Takouba. Ormi ran off to catch up, and I grunted. "Let's get 'em!" I said, and we all charged. Yuna called "Spherechange: Warrior!" Her body glowed and was enveloped in light, before fading to show Yuna in her Warrior outfit. Her armor was composed of heavy leather and buckles like Paine's, only in her hand was Tidus's old sword, Brotherhood. She and Fang both moved for the Takouba, while Rikku and I attacked the White Fangs. "Oopsie!" Rikku said, and she "accidentally" tripped one of the Fangs as it charged past her. It fell over and Rikku pulled the pin out of a Grenade and jammed it in its mouth.

She ran off as the fiend stood and whirled around to chase her, but then the Grenade exploded and sent it flying, its body a smoking husk before it even hit the ground. "Get a taste of this! Darkness!" I called, and I sacrificed my own health to deal a punishing blow to the other Fang. It whimpered before falling over, threads of darkness rising from its body as it faded away. The Takouba clicked and slashed at Paine and Yuna, who both dodged. Yuna ran forward and swung down in an overhead blow, which the fiend dodged. As it did though it forgot about Paine, who's blade burst into flames. "Flametongue!" she called, and swung around to hit the beast on the flank. The fiend cried out as it was hit with its elemental weakness, and Yuna did the same. Both attacks were more than enough, and the beast faded away.

I smiled; the four of us together were more than enough to take care of these small fry. We kept running, but now I could barely hear Leblanc and the others. "We have to hurry!" Rikku said, picking up speed and actually getting ahead of me. I blinked; since when was Rikku that fast? As we kept going the sounds of Leblanc, Ormi and Logos got closer, but rather than the sounds of running we heard the three of them grunting, like they were trying to move something. "Come on!" Yuna said. We made it to just beneath the apex, and suddenly we stopped. Beneath us Leblanc was hanging from the edge of a cliff, and Logos and Ormi were holding onto her.

"Would-Would you stop staring?!" Leblanc demanded. I shrugged. "Suit yourself," I said, and we kept going. Leblanc made a sound of surprise at our just leaving her there, and Rikku laughed. "Look like we win!" she said. Our luck was cut short pretty damn soon though, as one we reached the top we saw that there was one path leading forward, and right in the middle was a spider-like fiend in its lying on the ground, asleep. I sighed. "It figures we'd run into something like this," I said, drawing my sword. The fiend began trembling, and Paine said "It comes!" The fiend stood and hissed at us, and we each drew our weapons. "I'll keep it distracted!" Rikku said, and she charged to her Songstress outfit.

I smiled and drew both Ilios and Selini, running up and casting Bio. The puddle of green poison appeared beneath the fiend, but nothing happened. I frowned and cast Libra, learning that fiend was called a Boris, and was immune to any of the status spells I currently had in my arsenal. "Dammit!" I said, and I jumped back. Luckily it wasn't immune to Darkness, and so Rikku smiled before saying "Once I get a mic in my hands, it's all over! Darkness Dance!" She began dancing and a cloud of darkness appeared beneath the Boris, dropping over its eyes and blinding it. It hissed in surprise and swiped at us wildly, but without being able to see its aim was horrible.

Rikku giggled at her success and kept dancing, while I switched to my Gunner outfit. I wore a top similar to Yuna's, but it was black and without the Zanarkand Abes symbol, while the shorts were gray, and the half-skirt on my side was white. In each of my hands was a pitch-black revolver, and I smiled as I pointed at the Boris and fired. The bullets hit but didn't go in, bouncing off of its exoskeleton. Yuna was still in her Warrior outfit, and she and Paine both ran forward. Yuna used Flametongue while Paine's sword was enveloped in Water, and she used Liquid Steel. The fiend cried out in Pain as it was hit from both sides, and it sucked in a huge breath before spitting out a huge spider web in Rikku's direction.

Rikku shouted and was hit with the web, knocking her to the ground and keeping her there. With her Darkness Dance interrupted, the cloud over its eyes faded away, and now that it could see it swung at Paine and knocked her back. She grunted and fell to one knee, but hurriedly stood and ran back. I aimed both revolvers at the Boris and called "Trigger Happy!" My guns glowed and I fired, firing a dozen bullets that were all aimed at its legs. The Boris groaned in pain, but still its armor was too strong for the shots to get through. "We need to break down its defenses!" I said. "Say no more!" Paine said, and her body glowed yellow before she ran forward and hit the fiend from the side with Armor Break.

"Can I get some help here?" Rikku called, unsuccessfully trying to free herself from the web. "On it!" Yuna said, and she used slashed away at the strands. Once enough had cut Rikku tore away the rest, and she changed back into her Thief outfit. "That thing is going down!" she said, and charged forward. I stopped firing and reloaded each of my guns, and the Boris actually took the chance to leap into the air. "What the-?" I said, before realizing that it planned to land... on me! "Cred!" I yelled in Al Bhed, and I rolled forward. The fiend landed on the ground with a crashing thud, and several cracks appeared in the ground. I glared at the fiend but smiled; no that is had Armor Break my bullets would work for sure.

I aimed and waited until it turned back around and said "Time for some payback! Trigger Happy!" My revolvers glowed again and I fired, emptying my guns of ammo. Each one made impact and punctured, causing the Boris to screech in pain. I aimed for a cluster of them to hit it one the legs, and the fiend slid unsteadily as its left side was having trouble using its weight. "This is it!" Paine said, and she ran up to deliver the killing blow. Rikku smiled and did the same, along with Yuna. Both Paine and Yuna jumped onto it back and slashed, their attacks forming an X. Rikku took out her last Grenade and jammed it in the center, and they all jumped off. The Boris tried running after them but was too slow, and the grenade in its back exploded.

The Boris made one last sound of agony before falling forward, and its body slowly faded away. I changed back into my regular outfit, and we made one last run into the room at the end of the path. Inside was a single sphere on a pedestal, and Yuna grinned happily. "Found it!" she cheered. We heard a snort behind us and turned to see Leblanc standing there, a smirk on her face. Instantly I was on guard. "If you think you can take this from us like you did with the Garment Grid, you're a lunatic," I said. Leblanc glared at me before saying "It's obvious to the trained eye. That sphere's just a dud. Perfect for the _Dullwings_," she said, before leaving. Rikku giggled and said "Youth wins again!" "I guess we'll be taking this!" Yuna said, and pocketed the sphere.

We left the room and Rikku turned on her com device. "Brother! Mission complete!" she said. There was a burst of static, and then the voice of Buddy came through. "_Brother? He's not with you?_" he asked. I frowned. "No. Why?" I asked.

* * *

A while later we were back aboard the _Celsius_, and in the middle of the bridge Brother was lying on the floor, groaning. "What happened to him?" I asked. "He said something about Yuna being in trouble, and then he just jumped ship," Buddy explained. "And here he is," Shinra finished, not even looking up from his monitor. Yuna looked at him worriedly, but Rikku said "He's alive, right? Just leave him there." "Can you analyze the sphere we found?" Paine asked, handing it to Shinra. "I'm on it," he said. I sat back in one of the chairs and crossed my arms, closing my eyes as I waited. Despite Rikku saying to just leave him there, Yuna knelt down next, to Brother, and I could hear her say "Thank you, Brother." "It was... It was nothing!" he said.

"Don't strain yourself," she said. "A leader must be strong," he reasoned. Yuna didn't know what to say, and I figured that was the end of it. But then I heard Rikku yell "Sicko!" and I opened my eyes in time to see her kick him in the leg. "What's-?" I began. "He tried to pull a fast one on Yuna!" Rikku said, glaring at her sibling. Without saying anything I stood, walked over to Brother, and slammed my foot between his legs. He screamed in pain and Yuna gasped, calling "Sofia!" I looked down at Brother. "The next time you try to think with that, remember that I'm here," I said, before walking back and sitting down. Brother sad nothing but merely rocked from side to side, holding the part of him that I had stomped on.

* * *

The sphere hunt on Gagazet has over, and the story shall go on. But what will happen next? What things will occur? Stay on board to find out!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)


	5. Notice

**Author's Notice:**

Due to lack of readers and slow updates, A New Horizon is being placed on hiatus. I apologize if this displeases anybody, but know that while it may down, this story is not dead! Thank you.

-Deiru Tamashi


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